I would like to start by thanking everyone for sharing your wonderful children with us.  We have had a great start to the school year.  Having a good school doesn’t happen by accident.  It takes a team effort.  Thank you to the teachers, parents and especially the kids for working so hard to make Greene County Elementary a great place to learn.
    Thank you to everyone for following the new drive through procedures.  So far it seems to be working out great.  Remember the no right and left turn off of Russell Street before and after school.  Hopefully by the time the newsletter is published we will have the new signs up for this.  Again, thank you for your cooperation and kindness to the drive personnel.
    In September the second graders went to the zoo.  Thank you to Beta Tau Delta for sponsoring this exciting trip for our second graders for so many years.  Also, the fourth grade had their annual Farm Day.  Thank you to Farm Bureau for sponsoring this event and to Cale Juergensen and Connor and Lindsay Juergensen for sharing their farm with the students on this fun and educational day.  I would also like to thank the Greene County School Foundation for providing funds to support our PBIS program at the elementary and BOOST for their support of the students, teachers and school.  It is great to have such wonderful support for the school.
    On September 20 we had our first Family Tailgate at the elementary (thank you to the Greene County Cattlemen, Deals Orchard, HyVee, Fareway and BOOST for your support of this event).  Thank you to all who participated.  We hope to make this an annual event.  Other upcoming events are: Fall Parties on October 31; Parent-teacher conferences on November 19 and 21, we will again use myconferencetime for sign up beginning in early November; Grades K-1 Winter Program on December 10; Jingle Read on December 20 and Family Fun Night on January 30.  We look forward to seeing your families at these events.
    As November and December hit our lives seem to get very busy.  Please try to keep education as a priority as your child’s number one job is to get the best education possible.  Here are three ideas to help encourage your child to give their best effort.
    Keep it positive!  By the time most kids graduate from high school they will have heard over 15,000 negative words or phrases.  That’s why our children also need to hear words of encouragement.  Examples: “You can figure it out”; “You don’t have it YET” and “You’re doing better.”
    Show interest!  Let your child know you are interested in school.  Ask friendly questions, such as “Hear anything interesting today?” or “Meet anyone new?”  This keeps the lines of communication open.
    Reward progress!  Find ways (other than money) to reward your child’s efforts in school.  For example, having a friend sleep-over or going out for pizza with mom and dad can mean a lot to kids.
    I hope everyone has a great year.